Chapter Four Pleasure and Surprises.
Impa stood in the shadows, smiling to herself; she had watched how Link had acted and was proud of him, he was becoming a fine young ruler. It was obvious to her that this had been a form of 'play' for the young man, but she could see the potential in him. Of course, he already had had to make many serious decisions in his life so far; during the quest, he had shown no mercy when it came to enemies who were determined to stand in his way. Certainly Link knew how to stand firm and take no nonsense but as was evident by their highness's great amusement at the moment, they also knew how to have fun.
During the first couple of weeks of the cousin's visit, spirits were high. Every day the clatter of horse hooves travelled from the castle and through the town to Hyrule Field and the whole Royal Party would spend the days picnicing, playing and sightseeing. Most of the people who saw them would smile indulgently at the sight of the young ones in their outdoor finery; they were well aware that their rulers were kind and that the prosperity that was growing was due in great part to Link and Zelda.
There were days when the air was so warm and the whole of the young court, complete with their courtiers and maids; improvised picnics and games that turned into veritable fetes. This was especially so when Link called out as they passed, that anyone else was also invited to join in the frivolities. Most of the young and some of the not so young took full advantage of this and brought their own food onto the field. Large bonfires were lit and impromptu barbecues kept the parties going until well into the night.
Those in charge of security for the Hyrule couple were used to these 'spur of the moment' decisions of their Prince and Princess and there was now a special branch of security just for them. Link as the Hero of Time was not to know of this because he would have been outraged that his prowess to guard his Princess might be being called into question; but the King insisted and the guard was so good that Link hadn't tumbled it yet, even though Zelda had. For their visitors however, this seemed most out of line and they insisted on taking their own entourage with them for these 'fetes'.
Link and Zelda didn't mind who came as long as they were happy and having a good time. The citizens of Hyrule had gone through terrible and dark times and for a little while at least, it was nice to be able to let their hair down. Most people appreciated how approachable Link and Zelda were and did not take liberties, the couple were well loved. That was all very well and nice in a fairy tale, but Prince Tarin was appalled at the lack of apparent safety. He called his groomsman to him and instructed him to keep a protective eye on the Princess Zelda.
The groom named Tima (who now hated Link with a vengeance for his earlier humiliation of him), reminded his Lord that Link was exceptional with the sword. Prince Tarin however, remarked that being that as it may; he was not watching his wife with nearly enough care and was far too trusting. He thought that Link could be very childish sometimes and he and his sisters were slightly condescending to him when he was around, much to Zelda's slight annoyance.
Link himself was far from ignorant about all of this, after all he had lived with ridicule of all sorts with the Kokiri for long enough not to recognise it. But he could tell that there was nothing malicious in the attitude and so was not threatened; being far too sensible to rise to the bait. It was on one of these excursions that Jardan came to Link to inform him that there had been a raid on a farm on the outskirts of Hyrule. Moblins had run off a herd of cattle during the night, they had killed nobody but had been seen by the watchman.
"Tell the King that I will go at once Jardan, I'll gather a company of soldiers together and inform Zel."
"I will come with you My Lord, as a friend and as my duty."
"No, you are needed here, you have your wife and baby to think of first. Plus I need you to keep an eye out for Zel while I'm not here. No arguing with me on this Jardan."
"Very well Sir" Jardan took his leave and went off to meet the King. Link rounded up his captain of the guard and organised the company ready to leave. Then he went to Zelda and informed her of all that had transpired. She was worried but knew that he had to go, they could not afford to allow insurgents to roam freely.
"I do not know how long I will be Zel, but I will be back as soon as I can and enjoy yourselves while I am gone; Tarin I leave her in your charge until I return."
"Of course Link, Do you need any assistance, I have men used to quashing the enemy?"
"Thank you, but no; I have a troop ready, we will leave at once." Link bowed to Tarin and kissed Zelda promising her that he would be back as soon as possible. Zelda held him tightly and controlled her tears at his departure until he could not see her, when she broke down. Tarin put a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"It will be fine my Zelda, he will be back before you know it."
"I know," she sniffed, "but it is the first time we have been apart for many years. Even before we were married, I was following him as Sheik and now I cannot just leave as I wish. It is hard."
"The duties of royalty are your's now aren't they Zelda, as well as the privileges? Come shall we return to the castle?"
"No, Link would not want that, everyone is enjoying themselves. We will go back at the normal time."
Meanwhile, Link and the soldiers were heading out to the farmstead that had been raided. Link had made a point of the company being made up from non family men; he did not want to add orphans to his pile of regrets even if he had to leave widows. Hopefully, it would not come to that, but this decision left him with mainly the younger or older soldiers. Still, since he had been in charge of the city defences; training for the guards had been a priority and his men were now very well organised.
After a few hours of solid riding, they reached the farm and were soon listening to the farmer and the watchman tell the account. There had been about twenty Moblins who had overrun the farm and had stolen the cattle and some of the cuccoos. It seemed to be a small smash and grab raid and the trail was easy to follow for the soldiers, but Link would not be fooled; he had seen too many traps in his short but eventful life, to chase anything blindly.
The trail led to the mountains where any number of caves and valleys could hide any number of enemies; the trail led to a bottle neck opening into a field where large as life and not hidden were the herd of cattle. The walls of the mountains surrounded the fields and in them could be seen many caves, firlight and lanterns burning within; Link could feel his hackles rise as he knew they were being watched. Realising that they were in danger of archers from where they were, Link would not advance any further but waited; his soldiers already on high alert themselves, their own archers scanning the high walls with skilled eyes.
For a while there was no movement and then Link rode ahead of his party, although well covered by the archers and aware of any movement. He knew that he was being watched still and his sixth senses told him from where. Holding the Master Sword high above his head in his left hand he called out in a voice that carried throughout the valley.
"I am Link; bearer of the Master Sword and I would speak with whoever is now in charge of your group." Silence only greeted his speech and he tried again. "I want to know to whom you owe your allegiance." As he continued to look around openly he noticed movement from the main cave ahead of him and a large Moblin stepped out into the light of one of the many fires which lit the encampment.
"We have no master now, Link of Hyrule, you defeated him in fair fight. We now live here, this is our home and we will defend it and ourselves." The voice was deep and gutteral, but intelligent.
"You have conducted a raid and stolen cattle from a farmer, this cannot go unsettled." Link spoke with his quiet authority.
"No one was hurt in the raid."
"That is true and it will count well with you, but there is still the matter of the theft and the fact that I cannot allow you to just raid our people with impunity." Once again, there was silence but no obvious threat. Then Link saw a heartbreaking sight as his eyes grew accustomed to the gloom in the nooks and crannies of the surrounding rocks; he could see some much smaller figures huddling in groups eyeing him anxiously. Link jumped down from Epona and sheathed his sword, the Moblins knew that his speed when fighting was also legendary and he felt fairly safe for now.
He walked slowly and deliberately towards the small figures and he was met on his way by the large Moblin. The pair stared at one another for a while until Link started to walk again. Rounding the bend in some rockfall, he came across the figures; they were all huddled together and were obviously nervous about being approached. The Hero turned dismayed eyes to the Moblin beside him.
"These are your young? They are children?" The Moblin nodded, not taking his eyes of Link's movements as he neared the children.
"They are ill and...starving. What has happened here, where are your females and the mothers of these small ones?" He looked around and started to climb towards the caves above. The Moblin followed him warily but without fear and he took a calculated risk based on Link's reaction to the starving children. He could smell no deceit in Link and could tell that the compassion that the Hero showed was genuine.
"We suffered many losses while we were slaves under Ganondorf. Our females and children suffered and many now do not have their males to provide. Those of us left have been doing what we can since our defeat but it is not enough. We are now dying off as a breed here, we stole the herd in the hopes of gaining milk and food for our survivors. I admit it was desperate and with no hope of not being found out."
"You could have sued for peace, made alliances with Hyrule, all this suffering is needless as long as you honour a peace treaty."
"We are in no position to fight with fully fed, armed troops and with no reason or purpose."
"Would you be prepared to discuss peaceful terms with the Royal House of Hyrule and to come under it's protectorate?"
"This would be possible? For those who fought against you?"
"It is a good time right now to learn from the past and to go forward. There would be no problem as long as each kept to the ways of an alliance that was mutually binding."
"It is difficult to trust, if I come with you I might be in danger." Seeing his point Link called to his men.
"Is there anyone willing to stand as hostage exchange for this Moblin's safe passage to Hyrule?" Link was gratified to see many hands raised in answer to his plea and he chose the sturdy level headed captain that he knew would be able to keep himself calm under trial.
"Will that satisfy your sense of safety; if I also give my pledge that you will be unharmed?"
"It is well known that you have honour Link, it will surfice. Now what about the herd. We have no money or anything of value for trade and we need to survive?"
"We will take half the herd back with us and leave you with half. Hyrule will compensate the farmer and also replenish his stock when possible. We will also provide more cattle for you, dairy and meat. Terms can be worked out with His Majesty when you meet him. Do you have someone that you trust who can look after your tribe in your absence?"
The Moblin called out and another male came forward. They spoke in hushed tones together for some time and then parted. The original male then came to place himself in the custody of Link as they rode out of the valley, taking with them half the herd to return to the farmer. Link was pleased with the way this had worked out and it gave him ideas to find others who may still be lost and holed up somewhere. He would work out the details later; at the moment it was imperative to stop the starvation that should have no place anywhere, least of all in Hyrule.